A/N: Chapter 15 already!? I'm honestly surprised that I finished this many chapters in this short of a time. Thanks to all the readers who have been reviewing, following and faving the story so far! Your support gives me motivation and ideas. This chapter is dedicated to my man monsterjamvadim.

Enjoy!

Quote of the chapter:

"Redemption comes to those who wait, forgiveness is the key."

-Tom Petty

Chapter 15

Impending Fate

"POW!"

"KAPOW!

"CRACK!"

The sounds of wood breaking echoed through the training hall as numerous wooden training dummies were pounded to oblivion. Tigress was training hard at the moment, it had been more than a week since her boyfriend had been taken away from her and taken someplace nobody knew. To cope with her frustration and anger she was sparring with the training dummies and pounding each one of them to pieces. She had done this very often lately, especially after Po had been captured and taken away from the valley. She had just destroyed the tenth dummy in this training session when she heard someone shout "wow! That was awesome Mom! Could you teach me to how do that!?" Tigress couldn't help but smile, it had only been about a week and a half since she had adopted Hao from the Orphanage and yet it felt like it had just been yesterday. "Good morning Hao, did you sleep well?" Tigress kindly asked her Cub as she began to clean up the mess of wooden splinters and shards she had made. "Not really Mamma..." Hao replied to his mother sounding worried. Tigress was worried about this, for the last week, the Cub had almost slept like a log every day, however hearing this wasn't good news. "What's wrong Hao?" Tigress asked as went over to her son and placed a paw on his shoulder. "Well, it was a nightmare, and Po was in it, and he was in terrible pain, and-" "Slow down Hao, just tell me what happened in your nightmare." Hao calmed down a bit and replied "okay Mamma, the dream was in a place that I've seen before but I can't remember exactly where it was. I know that it had a large, flat open area which had a yellow circle in the middle. And it also had some steps leading up to a place that had two golden dragon statues." "The tournament arena..." Tigress said to herself as she recounted the details that her Cub had described. "Ya! That was the place! Anyway, I was at the tournament arena or wherever it was and then I saw Po lying on the ground. But he didn't look like he normally did, he had bandages all over and he didn't have his green tunic on. And what really made me scared was that he was scratching the top of his head really hard like he was trying to tear it off. And he just kept scratching the top of his head the whole time, he looked like he was in a lot of pain." Hao said as he recounted his nightmare to his mother. Tigress didn't like the way this sounded, she knew it was just a nightmare, however the last time she had ignored someone else' nightmare it turned out to be true and she was unprepared. But she didn't want her Cub to worry about this so she simply said to him "well Hao, let's be glad that it was only a nightmare." Tigress tried to comfort her Cub who looked like nervous, and rightfully so, a nightmare that horrific could frighten any young Cub. "Is Po going to be okay Mamma?" Hao asked as hugged his mother tightly for comfort. "I don't know Hao, I don't know...But I have a feeling that Po will come back soon..." Tigress told the Cub hugging him back trying to comfort him. "You really think so Mamma?" Hao responded with a hint of happiness in his voice. "I do." She replied.

"Good morning you two." They heard a voice call to them from at the entrance to the training hall. Tigress let her son down and greeted her adoptive father "good morning Master Shifu, I'm sorry for the mess, I was just training." "Good morning Gandmaster Shifu!" Hao bowed and greeted Shifu. Shifu nearly laughed at this, the Cub seemed to always try to be as formal as possible near him and he just chuckled every time at the Cub's behavior. "Good morning young Hao, do not worry about the mess Tigress, I will have Zeng and the other Palace servants clean it up later." Shifu replied to both of the stripped felines. Tigress and Hao both bowed in respect to the Red Panda and they began to leave the room when Shifu spoke again "Master Tigress, may I have a word before you begin your morning routines?" Tigress stopped and replied "sure thing Master. Hao, can you change into your training clothes? I will meet you at the Palace gates in fifteen minutes." She told her Cub before she faced the Red Panda. "Okay Mamma I'll leave right now! See you later Grandmaster Shifu!" The Cub said as he rushed off to his room at the Student Barracks. Shifu and Tigress just watched both shaking their heads at the Cub's adorable antics.

"So Master, what would you like to speak to me about?" Tigress said getting to the point. "Tigress, you know you don't need to call me that when we are in private..." Shifu said as he began to smile. "Sorry, what would you like to speak to me about Father?" She corrected herself. "I was going to commend you on how well you have been taking care of Hao for the last week. It brings me so much pride to see how well you take on the role of his Mother." Shifu told his adopted daughter with a smile on his face. "Thank you Father, to be honest, that Cub deserves the best life. Now allowing him pursue his passion brings a smile to my face." Tigress said with a smile on her face as she thought of her son. "That is excellent to hear Tigress, I'm so glad that you took that Cub in and gave him a chance at happiness." Master Shifu replied to the female Tiger and then continued "there is another matter I wish to discuss with you before you go to the Palace Gates." "Yes Father? What would that be?" She asked. "I plan to go to the spirit realm to meet an old friend again so I will most likely be away for a while, when you return to the Palace later can you make sure that the others keep up their training?" Shifu said. "Okay Master, I will see to that, however there is also something I wish to tell you before I leave for the Palace Gates." Tigress replied. Shifu raised an eyebrow and asked "Yes? What would that be?" "Well, I have a feeling that Po will return soon, and I don't believe that it will not be a happy reunion..." Tigress replied to her adoptive father. "You believe that Po will return? And you say that it won't be a happy reunion? How do you know this?" Shifu replied having been confused by what his daughter had just told him. "Well, before you came to talk to us today, Hao told me about a realistic nightmare he had last night which involved Po, I know it is only a nightmare but I remember to before Po was captured, he had a lot of realistic nightmares and when we went to rescue the children at the Orphanage, the Komodo Dragon that we fought was the exact same one he had seen in his dreams. In Hao's dream, he saw Po at the tournament arena suffering some sort of intense pain and trying to fight it." Tigress answered. "That is most peculiar, and also concerning...But if you are sure that a bad event is approaching, then you must alert the village and let them know what is coming and then evacuate to avoid any casualties." Shifu said affirmatively. "But that's the problem Master! I don't know if anything will happen! The only thing I have to go off of is Hao's nightmare!" Tigress almost argued with her father. "Well, you must do what you feel is right my daughter." Shifu said as he began to leave the training hall. "Of course Master." Tigress answered as she also left the training hall to meet up with her son at the Palace Gates.

Half an hour later at the tournament arena

Tigress and Hao had already left the Jade Palace and were on their way to the village to take Hao to the noodle shop for him to work for Mr Ping in the noodle shop. While the two were on their way to the village, Shifu was balancing on his wooden staff while meditating. At the present moment he was thinking about what he had talked about with Tigress earlier, he was slightly distraught by this. Even before she had told him this, he had felt a disturbance, almost as if someone had just suffered terrible pain and was suddenly silenced. (Star Wars Reference) He didn't quite know what it was at the time, however, he had a bad feeling that whatever it was, had to be connected to Po somehow.

He decided he would consult the issue with his old master in the spirit realm, so he got down from the staff and held it in his hand. Then he grabbed his left index finger with his right index finger and his right thumb, then he flexed his right pinkie finger and then…

"WOOSH!"

As Shifu performed the Wuxi finger hold on himself, he was shrouded in peach blossoms and a golden Chi energy wave was sent in every direction. He then vanished in thin air and disappeared from the mortal realm.

When the elder Red Panda opened his eyes again, he saw a very bright golden sky with many floating islands which had small structures on top of each. "The spirit realm, it worked." Shifu said to himself as he examined his surroundings. "Master Shifu, I am glad to see that you took my advice and believed." Shifu heard a familiar voice call his name behind. The Red Panda turned around and was delighted to see his old friend Master Oogway "Master Oogway! It is so good to see you once again!" Shifu exclaimed almost in excitement. "Likewise old friend, may I ask what brings you here?" Oogway asked as he sat on a branch of the peach tree. "Well Master, you see, I originally planned on coming here simply to see you once again, however earlier today my daughter told me something that has me feeling distraught." Shifu replied sounding a bit worried. "Does it have something to do with the Dragon Warrior being captured by 'Akuma The Tyrant'?" Oogway responded. "How did you know? And what did you say that Komodo Dragon's name was again?" Shifu asked, not understanding how Oogway knew exactly what he had wanted to tell him. "Akuma The Tyrant." Oogway responded clarifying the name of the Komodo Dragon to his confused friend. "But doesn't Akuma translate to demon from Japanese?" Shifu replied with another question. "It does my friend, in fact, Akuma originated from the island of Japan and was trained in several types of Japanese martial arts. However, he is a master of neither of these disciplines, as he killed both of his teachers before they could fully complete his training." Oogway replied. "But the scrolls in the Palace had no information on him at all. How do you know all these details?" Shifu asked still confused as to how his master knew these things. "I have my ways Shifu, however it seems that the valley is in grave danger now." Oogway responded trying to warn his Red Panda friend. "From Akuma?" Shifu asked. "Partially, but also from Po himself."

"Wait, what? What do you mean 'the valley is in danger from Po' Master?" Shifu asked, not comprehending what his former Master was telling him. "Well, you see Shifu...Akuma is neither the strongest nor the quickest fighter, however he makes up for these weaknesses with his ability to possess other living things. He has discovered a way to control the minds of his opponents and use them to carry out his agenda." Oogway explained. "Oh no..." Shifu said to himself as he realized what the Tortoise was implying. "No Master, he can't have possessed Po, please tell me it is not so..." Shifu said, fearing the Tortoise's response. "I'm afraid so Shifu, The Panda endured much pain, both physically and emotionally, and now he is unfortunately a minion for the very person who has caused him so much pain." The Tortoise looked depressed as he explained the sad truth of the situation. "No...This can't be true..." Shifu nearly fell to the ground, as he couldn't believe what his former Master was saying. "You must stay strong Shifu, for the valley needs you and the Furious Five." Oogway said trying to prop up his former student. "But we cannot fight him...We just can't..." Shifu argued while looking to be in a state of dread. "I understand that you are concerned about having to fight the Panda, however you must realize that no matter how dark someone may be, they always have light within them. For light cannot exist without dark, and vice versa." Master Oogway said trying to reassure his former student. "It's not just that Master...He has become extremely powerful...I don't even think that the Five and I could stop him at his peak strength..."

"Not alone you can't."

Said a new voice which interrupted the two Masters. Shifu turned around to see the origin of the voice and when he saw who it was, well, saying he was stunned would be an understatement. "Tai Lung!? How can this be? You were destroyed!" Shifu exclaimed in shock from seeing his adopted who he had thought to have been destroyed during his fight with the Dragon Warrior. "Surprised?" Tai Lung said with a sly smirk on his face. "But how can this be? The Dragon Warrior defeated you!" Shifu argued trying to deny reality. "Ah Shifu, you must know that the Wuxi finger hold is not a lethal technique." Oogway replied to the bewildered Red Panda. Shifu just sighed and said "I guess that would explain how the Panda got here and back unharmed..." Oogway just smiled at his former and nodded. "Look, I know I'm the last person you want to see right now Shifu, however I would like to fix the broken bridge between us...I would like to apologize...I was ambitious and selfish, I let myself become consumed by greed..." Shifu just starred at the Snow Leopard in disbelief 'did he just apologize? I didn't even know that was possible...And he wants to fix the bridge between us?' He thought. "Tai Lung, you must realize, I wanted nothing more than to see you again. A day didn't go by when I didn't feel regret and loss, I meant it when I said I was always proud of you 'Son'. And though I don't believe that what the Panda did was wrong, I still felt absolutely terrible about the whole thing."

Tai Lung listened to his former Master and was emotionally moved by what the Red Panda said, he had always thought that Shifu was lying when he had told him he was always proud of him. However he now saw how naive he was at the time, he had been so determined to claim 'the power of the Dragon Scroll' that he hadn't realized that his lust for power had clouded his judgment. "Shifu I know that I have been a naive fool in the past, but I'd like to make amends for my mistakes by helping you now." Tai Lung said. Shifu simply said "I understand Son, I would also like to make amends for my mistakes. I am hardly innocent in this and I believe it is time to put our differences behind us and work for the greater good." Shifu responded now smiling. Tai Lung walked up to his adoptive Father and knelt down so he was at eye level with the Red Panda, then he hugged his adoptive Father and said "I'm glad you see it that way 'Father'." Shifu just hugged his Son back and said "of course Son."

"I'm glad to see the bridge between Father and Son has been repaired." Oogway said with a slight chuckle. "Master Oogway, I can't thank you enough for helping me to discover myself once again." Tai Lung respectfully said after he let Shifu down. "It is my pleasure to help those in need Master Tai Lung." Oogway replied kindly. "I do believe we will have more time to chat, however right now the world needs us, so Tai Lung, will you come back to the mortal realm to help us defend the valley?" Shifu said. "Absolutely Master Shifu, that Panda still owes me a rematch so I'm not about to let him forget!" Tai Lung replied getting eager for another fight. Shifu just sighed and shook his head "no matter what, you will always be as competitive as when I first took you in..." Tai Lung laughed and replied "maybe so, but that doesn't change the fact that the Panda still owes me a rematch."

Tai Lung stepped next to his father and asked "so how do we return to the mortal realm?" Shifu knew how to enter the spirit realm, however he had never asked the Panda exactly how to leave the spirit realm. "Oh...This is embarrassing...I don't believe the Panda told me how to leave the spirit realm..."

Meanwhile in a Bamboo Forrest not far from the Valley of Peace

The air in the Bamboo forest was quite, the only sounds that could be heard were the rustling leaves on the Bamboo stalks moving in the wind. However this changed quickly, for a certain possessed individual was rampaging through the woods destroying everything in his way. For the last day, Po had been on his way towards the Valley of Peace, not that he knew what he was doing as he was still under the control of Akuma's mind. Right now, the Panda was running on all fours and was destroying any obstacles in his way, Bamboo stalks and trunks of larger Bamboo trees fell to the ground hard as the Panda powered right through every obstacle. Akuma and his army of mercenaries followed closely behind trying very hard to keep up with the Panda's outstanding speed and endurance. Akuma simply smiled as he thought 'with the Dragon Warrior at my command, all of China will finally be cleansed!'

Also meanwhile at the bottom of the 1000 steps to the Jade Palace

"It's too bad that I didn't get to work in the shop with Mr Ping today..." said Hao Liang disappointingly as he and his Mother walked up to the 1000 steps. "I'm sorry Hao, but the safety of the Valley always comes first, I don't want to take any chances." Tigress replied to her Cub as they began to walk up the stairs. They had just finished informing all of the village residents that a threat was incoming, Tigress thought it wise to evacuate the village as to not take any chances. It took around four hours to evacuate the entire village, however now all the residents were safely far from the valley away from danger. As the two walked up the stairs Hao spoke "Hey Mamma, guess what?" "What's up Hao?" She asked. "Well, I told Mr Ping about the dream that I had last night and before I even told him what happened in the dream he told me that I had just had something called 'the noodle dream', do you know what he means by that?" Hao asked his mother. Tigress chuckled at this, Po would often tell her and the other members of the Five many stories about his father, and one of these stories was about something that Mr Ping had called 'the noodle dream'. "I don't know Hao, but I'm sure it's a good thing." She answered as they continued to scale the steps.

When the two had reached the top of the stairs nearly an hour had past. "I don't think I'll ever be able to walk up those stairs without getting tired..." Hao joked as he and his Mother entered through the Palace Gates towards the Tournament Arena. "You'll get used to it, after all, even Po managed to conquer his weakness to stairs." Tigress almost joked to her Cub as the two were on their way back to the Palace. The two kept walking until they reached the center of the Arena and heard a very loud sound overhead.

"KABOOM!"

Thunder sounds went off as storm clouds rapidly filled the sky and very quickly, the entire sky was a mixture of dark gray and black, winds began to get stronger and dust and leaves blew all around. It was almost as if the rapidly changing weather was a foreshadowing of something about to happen. Hao was scared by this and so he hugged Tigress' leg for comfort. Tigress couldn't understand the reasoning behind the quickly changing weather conditions, though she did not have a good feeling about it and saw it as a sign. "Hao, I need you to return to the Palace and get the rest of the Furious Five, tell them to come here as quickly as they can." Tigress ordered her son affirmatively as she looked in the sky observing the changing weather. "But Mamma, what about you?" Hao asked his Mother feeling very uneasy. "Don't worry about me Hao, just go to the Palace and get the others as quickly as you can." "But Mom-" "Just Go! I'll be fine!" Tigress almost snapped at her son, but Hao obeyed his mother and ran as fast as he could towards the Palace Training Hall to get the rest of the Furious Five.

Tigress just stood in the center of the circle in the middle of the Tournament Arena. While the weather around her raged, she stood firm and watched the Palace entrance gates. Just then she started to hear sounds coming from beyond the gates, someone was coming up the stairs. The sounds kept amplifying as whoever it was who was coming up the stairs was getting closer. But then they stopped, almost as if whoever was coming up had just halted abruptly. But before anything else happened, Tigress began to feel raindrops fall. However Tigress then witnessed a figure jump very high into the air right over top of the Palace Gates and then land hard on the ground cracking the floor underneath from the sheer power of the impact. But when Tigress noticed who it was who had just landed ahead of her, she looked like she had just seen a ghost.

"Po!?"

A/N: Chapter 15 Done! And ended on another cliffhanger! What will happen next? Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out! Remember to send me quotes that I can use at the beginning of each chapter, and as always, favorite, follow and

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